Saturday and Sunday, September 27 -28
By Lisa Morgan
Take what assumptions you may have about the “typical” Nashville artist and throw them in the incinerator. The depth of music and talent in that music city is so gravely unrepresented on the commercial feed we receive here in California, that it’s criminal. But that is about to change. This weekend, a troubadour, in the purest sense of the word, will be making a couple of stops here in the Coachella Valley that will leave you questioning the intelligence of the corporate music industry (or perhaps their assumption of ours).
Levi Weaver, a post-folk, alternative rock, genre leaping “weaver” of lyric, melody, will most assuredly capture your stunned, awed and hungry-for-authentic-music-heart. While his level of talent is a bit surreal, his messages and communication skills are expertly down to earth. Simply put, he will ring your heart out like a sponge and you will love him for it. Audience reaction to Weaver’s one-man-octopus-band approach has been quite stellar. “I do feed off the audience, but I’m not sure I know how to describe it,” he says. “I feel an audience as an organism, almost; everyone has a unique combination that I try to unlock. When I get it right, it’s a great show. Sometimes, I have to recognize I just don’t have the key for that lock that night — some organisms want to dance.” The fact that he performs solo is quickly lost in the amount of pleasing sonic and lyrical orchestration he masters through a few bits of technology, pure skill and ingenuity. His former collaborator, and world renowned touring partner, Imogen Heap, cannot say enough about him.
“Levi won a competition to support me in Birmingham, UK. He was so fantastic that he sold all of his CDs and took twice as many mail orders. The crowd really warmed to him (as did I), so I took him on my US tour. He opened the show beautifully. He went down a storm, and I’m excited for what lies ahead in Levi’s world” IMOGEN HEAP, GRAMMY AWARD WINNER
“Songwriting, for me, is like painting,” explains Weaver, who went to school to study baseball play-by-play announcing. “I think about every word, revisit every melody, painstakingly pore over the details. With play-by-play, it’s like freestyle. It’s verbal acrobatics, trying to keep up with what you’re seeing happen at the speed of world-class athletes.” Weaver has released two full-length albums, two EPs, and two live albums. One of his most profound artistic assets is how Weaver’s live show complements his recorded music. His studio work is often stately and beautifully layered, but live, he re-imagines these creations as a one-man band, intriguing audiences with loop pedals, dual mics, and a violin bow, which he occasionally applies to his guitar strings. “As far as the loops go, it was honestly just a matter of necessity,” he explains. “I had just moved to England and didn’t know any other musicians, but I’d been asked to play a show and they wanted to hear ‘Which Drink?’. It’s nice to have requests, but that song is just the same five chords on repeat. Recording it, I’d been able to add and subtract, but it was going to be really boring and disappointing if I just played it on a guitar. I learned to loop the chords so I could at least play the lead line. From there, it just became a matter of having ideas — ‘What about my voice?’, ‘What about some effects?’, ‘What about multiple channels?’ — and figuring out how to do them.”
A tireless troubadour, Weaver has averaged 200 shows a year, often covering upwards of 50,000 miles in travel — and now his wife, their two small children, and their dog have all joined him on tour. “Having them out with me makes me feel like a millionaire, because if I had a million dollars, this is how I’d spend it,” he observes. That said, being out on the road, all-in, does present its own set of challenges. “This way I’m not looking at an adorable picture of my child in a penguin costume wishing I was there.” As his bio reads, “It’s a lot like a relationship within a relationship, actually. It will be awful sometimes, but it’s worth it. ‘You are, for me. I am, for you. Whatever circumstance happens, we’re in this together.’ Going through those things reminds you how committed you really are. ‘Well, that didn’t stop us. We know we can beat that obstacle now.’ It’s been a lot like that. Yeah, we might end up vomiting in a parking lot in Brooklyn, but we’re still here. I like that.”
Weaver has been the focus of short films, documentaries, and received some powerful tastemaker plaudits. He’s been the subject of the award-winning short film Spirit First, chronicling Weaver’s journey, and ADDvocate Film’s String Theory: A Levi Weaver Documentary. In addition, he’s also been featured in both Map the Music and the upcoming Map the Music: 2. Onetime tourmate, Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Imogen Heap, raves about his live show. Performing Songwriter Magazine calls Weaver a “musical wunderkind with grand ambitions.” After one performance Citybeat Cincinnati concluded: “Weaver was a one-man work of art.”
You will have two opportunities to enjoy the amazing, live performance of this artist this weekend.
Saturday, September 27th at Schmidy’s Tavern, Weaver will be joined by local award winning and nominated artists Caxton and Giselle Woo. Reservations and early arrival are recommended. Schmidy’s Tavern is located at 72286 Highway 111, Palm Desert (at the corner of Fred Waring and Hwy 111 next to Men’s Warehouse). (760) 837-3800. The show will start between 8 and 9 PM.
Sunday, September 28th at Plan B Live Entertainment & Cocktails: 32025 Monterey Avenue, 1000 Palms (Where Monterey and Ramon Road connect). (760) 343-2115. Weaver will perform at approximately 7 PM and will be joined by local artists, including the popular local band, Pocket Yellow.
